Tampa is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the county seat of Hillsborough County. With an estimated population of 403,364 in 2023, Tampa is the 49th-most populous city in the country and the third-most populous city in Florida after Jacksonville and Miami.
Tampa was founded as a military center in the 19th century, with the establishment of Fort Brooke. The cigar industry was brought to Tampa by Vincente Martinez Ybor, after whom Ybor City is named. Tampa was reincorporated as a city in 1887 following the Civil War. Tampa's economy is driven by tourism, health care, finance, insurance, technology, construction, and the maritime industry. The bay's port is the largest in the state, responsible for over $15 billion in economic impact.
Tampa is part of the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a four-county area composed of roughly 3.1 million residents,[14] making it the second-largest metropolitan statistical area (MSA) in the state and the sixth largest in the Southeastern United States, behind Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Washington D.C., Atlanta, and Miami. The Greater Tampa Bay area has over 4 million residents, and generally includes the Tampa and Sarasota metro areas.
